Manlius  Tim Etter has been collecting antiques since he was just ten years old. He’s always had a knack for art - which is why he opened his own photography and custom framing business. His interest in preservation and art and his appreciation for history led him directly to the Manlius Historical Society and his new position as office administrator.

Etter has been around the area for years and is quite familiar with the Manlius area from his days as a real estate agent. He worked in the human service field for 27 years prior to his real estate career, but he says that by showing so many houses, he became intrigued by historical homes.

“I developed an interest not only in my own home, but in other people’s homes as well,” Etter said. “I love architecture and I love historic homes.”

He works at the historical society three days a week and divides the rest of his time between the Image Makers- his photography and framing business, which he operates out of his home in DeRuyter, and his job doing preservation work at the DeRuyter Historical Society, of which he is currently the Vice President.

“We’re a small group of people and we don’t have a lot of money, but I can learn from [Manlius], I can be active with this organization and hopefully I can transfer some of that inspiration to DeRuyter,” Etter said.

He was hired after the society’s executive director left her job earlier this month. Instead of hiring a new director, the historical society eliminated the job title and has split up the duties and restructured its system a bit. Etter is mainly responsible for administering programs and working directly with the historical society’s board members to help out with various tasks. He says that right now, his biggest duty is to help prepare for one of the historical society’s biggest fundraisers of the year, the antique show.